BDO upsizes LTNCD offering

The country’s leading lender BDO Unibank has raised P7.3 billion from an upsized offering of high-yielding deposits, citing brisk demand from retail and institutional investors.

BDO increased its issuance of long-term negotiable certificates of deposit (LTNCDs) from the base offer of P5 billion as total subscriptions reached almost 1.5 times the original offer, the bank disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday.

The LTNCDs, which have a tenor of five and a half years, were priced to yield 5.375 percent per annum.  Interest will be paid on a quarterly basis.

The issue date is slated for April 12, 2019, while the maturity date will be Oct. 12, 2024.

“The LTNCD issuance is part of the bank’s efforts to lengthen the maturity of its funding sources and support business expansion plans,” the BDO disclosure said.

Individual investors enjoy tax exemption on interest income if they hold these LTNCDs for at least five years.

These instruments also have a deposit insurance coverage with Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. of up to P500,000 per depositor.

Deutsche Bank-Manila acted as the sole lead arranger and selling agent for the issue, while BDO and BDO Private Bank acted as selling agents. BDO Capital and Investment Corp. served as BDO’s financial advisor.

This marks BDO’s return to the LTNCD market after a year. It last issued P8.2 billion worth of LTNCDs in May last year.

BDO is the country’s largest lender with assets breaching P3 trillion. Last year, it chalked up a record-high net profit of P32.7 billion, outperforming its full-year goal despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA